• Published 1st Mar 2014
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Resuscitatio Artium Magicarum - Xomniac



For centuries, the old races of Equus have slept, slumbering on and on for years on end. Now, at long last, they are being awakened. Beware, Equestria, the Age of Ponies has come to an end.

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Chapter 29. Ominous Winds

Once, Detrot had been a thriving river port, its location on the border with Eagleland and along the Detrot river guaranteeing considerable traffic. So great was this movement, particularly the cross-river movement, that twenty years prior the city had funded, at great expense, the construction of several large bridges.

And then the railroad arrived.

All of Equestria’s river ports endured some form of economic downturn with the railroads stealing traffic from the rivers, but most of them rebounded, held up by other economic activities. Detrot did not. The result was that those residents who could flee the city did, and those who could not were left in a depressed, bankrupt, and increasingly run-down and crime-ridden city.

Well, as much as any city could be run-down and crime-ridden in Equestria. Crown subsidies kept the city afloat, Royal Guards kept the civilians safe for the most part, and steamship development promised some revival of the river traffic. Still, it was a hotbed of illegal activity, in particular the smuggling of illegal goods. If you wanted something banned from the Crown, Detrot ranked with, ironically enough, Canterlot of all places, as the best place to get it.

Which was exactly what led a certain large, cloaked individual to scrounge around in the back alleys of the city, lumbering to and fro along the ill-cobbled streets in search of a location. Now and then, a pony or griffon or what have you would eyeball the figure, contemplating whether or not they would be a viable mark to make a quick bit off of. Each and every one of these individuals reconsidered the instant the being snapped its head towards them and loosed a chest-rumbling growl, each one deciding they’d rather keep their limbs intact, thank you very much.

The figure continued their trudge for about an hour before finally coming to a halt, looking up at the old wooden sign hanging above it. After a few seconds of processing the marks engraved on the wood, the figure grunted in satisfaction and shouldered the door open, causing the bell hanging just behind it to jingle in greeting as it walked in.

The shop was something of a mess, with books and bric a brac piled high just about everywhere. Most individuals would have found the darkness that enshrouded the room daunting, to say the least, but it did little to hinder the individual. The cloaked being silently lumbered into the store, sweeping its apparently obscured gaze over the wide selection of curios in a single-minded pursuit.

He was about halfway through when an array of candles lit up around the shop, simultaneously dispelling the darkness and enhancing the shadows.

“May I help you, traveler?”

The figure swung its gaze around to share at the apparent owner of the shop, an old gray earth pony wearing traditional Chineighese clothing with his mane done up in a braid.

Not waiting for a response, the shopkeeper walked over to the shop’s counter and hauled his forelegs up onto the wood, shooting a winning grin at the individual. “I imagine that I can. You seem like a very dedicated individual, I can tell that you already know what you’re looking for.”

The figure gave a grunt of agreement before bucking what was most likely his head forwards, indicating something behind the pony.

The owner looked at what he was gesturing at and promptly froze for a moment before plastering a grin on his face. “Ahh, you have a keen eye. Yes, the Alicorn Amulet is a very-!”

He was promptly cut off by the combined thump and jingle of a bag of bits being dropped on the counter. The earth pony took in the sack of currency for a moment before shrugging and placing the display case holding the pendant onto the counter. “Well, can’t argue with that. Thank you for shopping at Bibelot’s Curio Compendium, please come again.”

The figure ignored the pony’s platitudes, instead extending his head towards the case and apparently giving it a sniff.

Before Bibelot could react, the figure let loose a massively bloodthirsty snarl and lunged forwards, grabbing the pony by his throat with a massive clawed hand made of stony gray skin that was cracked through with deep red lines and lifting him several feet off the ground.

“Triiiiicksssss!” the being hissed, its voice like gas venting from the earth. “Traaaaitorrrrr!”

“W-what!?” Bibelot gagged, flailing his legs furiously. “I-I d-don’t!”

“Liiiiiessss!” the being rumbled, smoke starting to waft out from beneath its cloak. “Maaaadneeessss!”

Bibelot’s eyes shot wide in realization as he hurriedly rapped on the figure’s arm. “Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! Y-you’re right, I cursed the Amulet, but-GRK!” He was cut off as the grip on his neck redoubled. “WAIT!” he wheezed out a final time before swinging a hoof down and striking the top of the amulet’s display case.

The glass lit up and rippled with a veritable rainbow of arcane colors before the hues dulled into a flat gray and faded away.

The figure glared at the shopkeep for a moment longer before giving the display a tentative sniff. A second later, the being dropped the pony in favor of removing the display case and grabbing the amulet, allowing Bibelot to get his hooves beneath himself and take a ragged breath.

“I-I apologize...” the earth pony wheezed, “For the deception... but it was not meant for you. Every now and again, some random necromancer or would-be conqueror or-or-or someone will seek out the Amulet. The curse of madness was meant to force those who sought it to take their actions to the extreme, so that they would either burn themselves out with increasingly reckless actions, or simply draw Celestia’s attention so she can drop some plasma on them.”

Bibelot shrugged as he adjusted his collar uncomfortably. “We tend to prefer the former, makes it easier to retrieve the Amulet, but there’s also value in keeping that tyrant on her toes. Either way, the system works. Had I known you had some modicum of actual ability, I would not have utilized the ploy. I apologize and simply ask that you put the Amulet to good use... and avoid as many unwarranted casualties as you can, of course.”

Throughout the explanation, the figure had been looking the Amulet over, both sniffing it and turning it in its fingers. Finally, seemingly satisfied, it withdrew its arm back into its cloak and turned around, making its way towards the door.

Bibelot plastered a shaky grin on his face and waved a hoof in farewell. “G-good luck with whatever your plan is! Have a nice day!”

The figure’s apparent response was to slam the shop’s door shut behind it.

The earth pony’s expression immediately fell into a furious scowl. “Jackass.”

Outside the shop, the figure wandered off a ways until it found its way to the end of a blind alley. Once there, he stuck two clawed hands out of its cloak, one grasping the Amulet, the other open and upturned. The open claw was then filled with a flickering orb of black and red fire.

The orb wavered for a second before flaring strongly, the center darkening and a strong female voice coming forth from it. “Do you have it?” the woman on the other end of the line requested in a commanding tone of voice.

The figure rumbled positively, holding up the Amulet for the orb to see. “Suuuccesssss.”

The woman let out a positive-sounding humph, her blurred image in the fire seeming to nod. “Good, good... move on to phase two. I trust you have a suitable location in mind?”

The figure’s cloak shifted slightly, allowing a glowing grin to peek out from beneath it. “Yeeeesssss...” he slid the Amulet back into his cloak before using his newly freed hand to conjure up the image of a town. “Poooonyviiiiiille.”

“Oh?” the woman mused. “That’s where you reported Celestia’s...” She considered her words for a moment. “Student was living, correct?”

“Yeeeesssss...”

Despite how blurry the image was, the massive smile the woman was wearing came through as clear as day.

“Perfect.”

-o-

The morning following her return from Vitrum, Twilight enacted Morning Routine 3.2, designed to deal with the aftermath of stressful life-or-death situations. This entailed a combination of sleeping in late, a long soak in her bathtub, extra time spent on her morning grooming, setting a pot of coffee to boil and preparing a simple breakfast of cold cereal, all intended to help her decompress and thus done by hoof as much as possible. And it worked.

Well, right up until the last step, anyway, when she put a spoon halfway through the ceiling when she tried to take it out of its drawer with her magic. That kind of put a damper on things.

Twilight blinked numbly up at the cutlery sticking out of her ceiling for a second. She then became aware of a whistle of steam erupting from her kettle. Moving nice and slowly, she grabbed the kettle off her stove and slowly, ever so slowly, poured it into the coffee machine plugged into the wall. A coffee filter was retrieved from its location just above the sink, and ground coffee carefully scooped out of its bag and into the filter, more than a little ending up spilled on the counter. After that, she just needed to close up the top and hit a button, and coffee would come out. The wonders of modern conveniences!

More seriously, it would have been nigh impossible to make coffee the old way by hoof, so Twilight sent a silent thanks to the brand-new machine and the bag of pre-ground coffee.

She waited a moment for her the brew to distill properly before fishing out a mug, placing it below the machine’s faucet and pressing the appropriate button. She continued to wait as the muddy liquid poured into the mug and then proceeded to withdraw the mug and took a nice, long pull from her drink.

Twilight savored the burning sensation as it coursed down her throat before letting out a sigh of satisfaction. She then proceeded to take another sip... and spew it across the countertop as she snapped her eyes up to stare at the spoon in disbelief.

“Wha-!?” she sputtered in disbelief. “I-wh-I-I-I don’t-! What!? What!?”

Before she could think about what she was doing, Twilight grasped the spoon with her magic once again...

And found herself staring at the brand new hole in her kitchen table. And floor. And- Twilight hastily calculated the velocity and, after drawing on her mental blueprint of her home, resigned herself to having to replace some of the lab equipment in the basement.

Shaking her head morosely, Twilight crossed her eyes as she looked up at her horn. “What the heck... is...” She trailed off slowly as a thought hit her. Acting very carefully, Twilight concentrated on the control lessons that Seath and Trixie had had her memorize. She then proceeded to grasp a fork with her magic and carefully lift it up and out of the drawer, hefting it contemplatively before placing it back in the drawer.

Twilight fell on her rump and blew a tired sigh out of her nose as she proceeded to massage her suddenly throbbing temples. Two lines of thought were running through her head: ‘I should have seen this coming,’ and ‘Let’s think this through.’ Ultimately, the second line won out, and Twilight started to run through facts.

‘Alright, alright...’ Twilight slowed her breathing as she got back onto her hooves and started to pace. ‘My magic is approximately as strong as it was back in Vitrum, despite me being in Ponyville. The reason given for my increase in power was that the force Princess Celestia used to make the world safer, called ‘harmony’, was removed from Vitrum, and thus ceased to suppress my magic, unleashing it to its fullest potential. However, I am no longer in Vitrum, hence I should be affected by harmony once anew. So, logically, for whatever reason, I can assume that I am no longer being affected by harmony.

‘Alright, so now the question becomes why. Why isn’t the harmony affecting me any more? Several possibilities arise: interference from an outside sources, which include Scholar, Princess Celestia, and other third parties, biological anomalies, sheer happenstance, cosmic coincidence-!’ Twilight promptly rapped a hoof on her forehead as she let out a grunt of exasperation. ‘No no no! That’s a tangent, Twilight, focus on the real problem.’

Twilight started to chew on her lip nervously as her thoughts changed course. ‘Right... the real problem isn’t the ‘why’ or the ‘how’, those questions can come later. What matters at this time is the ‘what’. What happens now, what should I do now?’ The unicorn mulled over the question uncomfortably for a moment. ‘If I tell Princess Celestia about it, then she’ll most likely find a way to rectify it... but...’ She glanced left and right in an unsure manner. ‘It’s not like that would be such a bad thing, would it? After all, Princess Celestia’s whole reason for creating harmony was to protect us, so... the logical solution would to talk to her about it, right?’

Twilight swallowed heavily as a momentary stab of doubt hit her. ‘Right?’

Before the magical prodigy could dwell on matters any further, a series of raps on the library’s door knocked her clean out of her head.

“Ah-! Coming, coming!” Twilight called out, scrambling to answer the door. She hesitated for a mere moment before using her magic to carefully grasp the doorknob and tug the door open. “Hello? Can I help-?”

“Hello!”

“-GYRK!” Twilight squeaked intelligently as she crushed the doorknob to the approximate size of a grape.

Floating above Twilight’s doorstep was what appeared to be a golem both similar and dissimilar to Nix and Null. Similar in that it was made of rune-engraved stone, dissimilar in that it had a different design. This golem looked like a floating humanoid torso, with its arms, hands and heads being linked to its torso by means of streams of magic. The bottom-half of its spherical head was painted with a wide, all-teeth smile that was either meant to be winning or psychotic.

“Greetings -Twilight Sparkle-!” the golem proclaimed with a wave of its hand, its voice shifting slightly as it said Twilight’s name, as though it were pre-recorded. “I am an Automated Academia Golem Envoy, colloquially known as an ‘Envoy’. I am a humble courier for the Academia Arcana. I come bearing a message for the -head librarian- of the -Golden Oaks Library-. May I please enter your -place of work/humble abode-?”

Twilight stumbled over her words for a moment before nodding jerkily and gesturing inside. “P-please, come in. Make yourself at... home? I suppose?”

“Thank you very much!” Envoy chirped, drifting inside.

Just as Twilight was closing the door, the sound of steps descending the stairs sounded out.

“G’morning Twilight...” Spike yawned tiredly, stretching his arms along with his jaws. “Who’s at the-?” He promptly froze and stared when he caught sight of their ‘guest’. “Uhh...?”

“Spike, we have a guest. I’d like you to meet...” Twilight gestured at the artificial being weakly. “Envoy.”

“Greetings!” The golem waved cheerfully.

“Envoy here says that he has a message from the...” Twilight swallowed nervously as she eyed the golem. “The Academia Arcana. Why don’t you go upstairs and ah... brush up?” she jerked her head upwards with a somewhat pleading look.

“But I don’t even have... ah, I mean…” Spike trailed off as he got the message. “I- ah- s-sure thing, Twilight! Be right back!” And with that he promptly scrambled back up the staircase.

Twilight waited for as long as she comfortably could before shooting a shaky grin at Envoy. “So... ah... Envoy, right?”

“Indeed!” The golem nodded energetically in confirmation.

“Uh... yeah...” Twilight swallowed uncomfortably as she scratched the back of her neck. “So... what... brings you...?”

FLASH!

Twilight heaved a massive sigh of relief as the brilliant flare of a teleportation arose behind her.

“Twilight? Is everything alright?” Celestia asked as she looked about the room. “The message Spike sent me was quite...” The princess trailed off as she caught sight of the magical automaton. “Frantic...” She stared at it for a moment before shaking her head with a weary sigh. “You can relax, Twilight, it’s just an Envoy, the Academia’s classic messengers. Seeing as there appear to be no major changes to it, I believe it to be harmless.”

“Greetings -Tyrant Celestia-!Envoy greeted her without changing its voice in the slightest. “A number of automated messages were prepared should any of us Envoys meet you. Would you care to receive them?”

Celestia considered for a moment. “That depends... What’s the first one?”

“Burn in hell.”

“Should have seen that coming...” Celestia muttered as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I’d prefer not to hear the rest of the messages, thank you very much.”

“Understood!”

“Um... Princess?” Twilight spoke up hesitantly, eyeing the golem nervously. “Why is it... here?”

“I come bearing a message for the -head librarian- of the -Golden Oaks Library-!” Envoy repeated word for word. “The -head librarian- for this establishment is listed as -Twilight Sparkle-! -Twilight Sparkle-, would you care to receive the message?”

The unicorn glanced up at her teacher in search of guidance.

Celestia analyzed the golem for a moment before shrugging with cautious indifference. “As I said, Envoys are often harmless.” She frowned as she continued to mull things over. “Though considering the origins of the message, I have no doubt that the words it carries are as much a weapon as any blade or spell. In the end, though, the choice is yours, of course.”

Twilight nodded meekly as she thought for a moment before nodding once more, only this time much more firmly. “Envoy, I would like to receive the message.”

“Very well then! Message follows!” Envoy clasped its hands together as it addressed Twilight cheerfully. “Dear -Miss- -Sparkle-, this message is from the Academia Arcana’s Department of Global Affairs. On account of -the collapse of the majority of civilized society-, the Academia’s global presence has been severely diminished. Currently, the Academia has -zero- branch libraries remaining world wide. As such, in this state of emergency, the -Golden Oaks Library- has been nominated to incorporate a branch of the Academia Arcana. This is a great honor, and you have our sincerest congratulations!”

“Absolutely not!”

Twilight jumped in shock at Celestia’s sudden interjection. “P-Princess?!”

Celestia flinched as she realized that she’d spoken reflexively, casting an apologetic glance at her student. “I apologize about that, Twilight,” she cast a glare at the golem. “That was meant for it and not you. I’m sorry, Twilight, but as impressive as your library is, this is obviously just a ploy of Scholar’s to gather intelligence both on you and Equestria. He’s done it before, ‘honoring’ libraries by offering them the chance to become branches.”

“Actually, that statement is false!”

The ponies jumped as Envoy suddenly spoke up. “E-excuse me?” Twilight asked.

“The statement given by -Tyrant Celestia- is false!” Envoy clarified. “The -Golden Oaks Library- is not the sole establishment to receive an offer to incorporate a branch of the Academia. At this moment, other Envoys are extending this offer to -452- establishments across -Equestria- alone, including but not limited to -Vanhoover Central Library-, -Library of Bahston-, -Hayvard University Library-, and -Manehattan Public Library-.”

Celestia’s eyes widened in shock at the statement before scowling darkly. “The only difference that makes is that it means I’m going to need to endeavour to root out which libraries are foolish enough to accept your offer before I put out a general warning to refuse you.”

Twilight fidgeted as her mind went back to the intellectual discussion she’d had with Seath over studying Trixie’s magic.

‘All the knowledge that could be gained from this, and Celestia wants to stop us from learning it?’ Though she would never admit it aloud, Twilight found Celestia’s decision to be… disquieting. ‘The only reason I can think of for her to block it is because it’s dangerous.’ Unconsciously, she bit her lip. ‘But...’ “Princess...” she spoke up hesitantly. “A-are you sure that that’s the best idea? I mean, after all... wouldn’t it be best to... I don’t know, regain whatever knowledge was lost in the past two thousand years?”

The Alicorn cut her glare off from Envoy in favor of shooting a pleading look at her student. “Twilight, I realize that this might sound counter-intuitive to you, but the knowledge that Scholar is offering is dangerous. Complete, unrestricted access to the knowledge of the Academia Arcana... I... I can’t even begin to contemplate just how much damage would be wrought as a consequence.”

“I...” Twilight looked away hesitantly. “I realize that, but... it’s just...” She was silenced by a hoof landing on her shoulder.

“Twilight...” The unicorn looked up in response to Celestia’s pleading tone of voice, meeting her desperate gaize. “Please... I’m begging you... I have enough experience to know how these things end. How Scholar thinks and acts. Just... trust me?”

Twilight stared up at Celestia for a moment before bowing her head in thought. After a short amount of quiet contemplation, she looked up and looked her teacher in the eye. “I-”

“Pardon the interruption!”

Twilight and Celestia jumped - again - as Envoy suddenly spoke up.

“But it is now time for the quote of the day!”

Twilight blinked in confusion at the statement. “What’s the quote of the day?”

Celestia snorted as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Just a childish feature Scholar liked to incorporate into varying golems so that they would share varying sentences and phrases that he or any other Oligarchs found interesting. Personally, I never contributed, I just found it annoying.”

“Incorrect! -Tyrant Celestia- shared -314- quotes over her tenure as an Oligarch of Concordia!”

Celestia blushed self-consciously as she coughed into her hoof uncomfortably. “I -ah- t-that is to say- t-they were spread out over many- eurgh!” She slammed her hoof between her eyes and dragged it down her face. “Just... what’s the quote, you barely-intelligent lump of basalt?”

Envoy crossed its arms behind its back as it drew itself up to its full height.

“The quote of the day is thus: Beware of those who would deny you access to information, for in their heart they dream themselves your master."

Celestia blinked as she processed the golem’s statement.

Then everything became FIRE.

“HOW DARE YOU INSINUATE SUCH AN ATROCITY OF ME!? OF MY SISTER?!” Celestia snarled, blasting out as much pure, undiluted magic that she possibly could, directing it all upon the focus of her rage. “AFTER ALL WE HAVE DONE TO PROTECT THEM, AFTER ALL WE HAVE DONE TO SAFEGUARD THEM!? YOU KNOW NOTHING OF WHICH YOU SPEAK, YOU WORTHLESS, INSOLENT, FECKLESS-RAAAAAAGH!”

Celestia’s rage endured for either an eternity or an instant, devastating anything and everything around her until finally... she all but collapsed on her hooves, her legs shaking violently as she fought to keep herself upright.

The focus on keeping herself standing slowly allowed the anger to ebb away. As her body slowly regained its strength, so too did her anger seep away, so that by the time she could stand without shaking her anger rage had returned the usual everpresent spark of self-hatred kept locked in the shadows of her mind.

It was at that moment that Celestia jerked in shock, recalling the reality of her situation.

“TWILIGHT!” she shrieked, snapping her head up... and staring at the sea of obsidian that surrounded her in uncomprehending surprise.

Celestia worked her jaw in confusion as she took in her surroundings: it was like a vast, unending desert composed of pitch-black sand hand just frozen, melted into a singular mass of glass while in the midst of blowing away. The Alicorn swung her head left and right in hopes of getting her bearings, but then froze as she noticed the horizon; or more specifically, the lack thereof.

It was only upon looking up into the pitch-black, starless dome that was the sky that comprehension finally dawned on her.

“Oooooh...” Celestia breathed, nodding slowly in both relief and comprehension. “This place... I haven’t been here in...” The Alicorn let out a massive sigh of exasperation as she shook her head and pressed a hoof to her forehead. “Those bastards...

One swift exertion of her will on reality later and Celestia re-appeared in the Golden Oaks Library, causing a frantic Twilight to jump in shock.

“P-Princess!” she yelped, running up to her mentor desperately. “A-are you alright? A-a bunch of runes a-appeared and then you just disappeared and-! W-Where did you go!?” She snapped a furious glare at Envoy, who hadn’t moved an inch. “What did that thing do to-!?”

“Twilight!” Celestia cut her student off hastily with a raised hoof before. “Twilight... I’m fine. And don’t worry, that,” she snapped a glare at Envoy, which merely tilted its head in response to the attention. “Didn’t do anything to me. I’m... afraid that was all me. In a manner of speaking, anyways.”

“Huh?” Twilight blinked in confusion. “But... the runes-?” she squeaked in surprise when a ring of runes appeared around Celestia, winding through the air around her barrel.

“Voluntary and... actually rather ancient, my little pony,” Celestia explained wearily. “They’re designed to forcibly translocate us Oligarchs to a pocket dimension should we ever be...” She hesitated as she chose her words. “Overcome with emotions.”

Twilight frowned as she attempted to understand what her teacher was saying. “W-why would you need anything like that?”

The Alicorn flinched at the question, bowing her head in shame. “High emotions usually lead to lowered inhibitions, and with the sheer degree of power we wield...” Celestia snorted in dark amusement. “Well, suffice to say that Scholar ‘strongly’ suggested we have them applied following an incident where Serpense melted an entire forest with his acid after Discord made one worm joke too many. And by ‘strongly’, I mean we all woke up the next morning strapped to slabs with the runes burning into our souls. Scholar included actually, which, considering his tolerance for alcohol, was quite the feat.”

The unicorn mulled this over for a moment before speaking. “So... the reason why it activated now...”

Celestia winced, briefly cursing her student’s intellect. “I... lost my temper... because of the words they explicitly chose. Twilight, I assure you that-!” Celestia froze mid-sentence, her words dying in her throat as she returned to the matter at hand. The princess worked her jaw for a moment, a myriad of emotions flitting across her face before she finally looked away without a word, slowly trotting towards the door.

“P-Princess?!” Twilight asked in concern, making to follow her. “W-what’s wro-?”

“Do whatever you feel is best.”

Twilight froze as she blinked in shock. “W-what?”

“Do... whatever you feel is best... with the offer...” Celestia repeated numbly, standing in the doorway of the library. “I... I can’t say anything on the matter. I-I just, I… M-my words, a-anything I try to say...” The princess shook her head, letting out an uncharacteristic whinny. “Goodbye, Twilight.”

And with that, she spread her wings and shot into the air like an arrow.

“Wh- PRINCESS CELESTIA!” Twilight shrieked, darting to the door. However, by the time she got there, the Alicorn was already a white dot in the sky, heading back towards Canterlot.

Twilight stared up in disbelief, trying to reconcile what she was seeing with what she knew in vain.

“Pardon the interruption!”

Twilight jumped- again!- as Envoy spoke up -AGAIN!- from out of nowhere. The instant she got over her shock, the unicorn snapped a glare at the golem. “Haven’t you done enough already!?” she snarled, wisps of smoke rising from her mane.

The artificial being chose not to respond to the outburst, instead tilting its head to the side and wringing its hands. “The Academia Arcana still awaits your answer -Miss- -Sparkle-. Would you care to incorporate a branch of the Academia Arcana into your establishment?”

Twilight continued to glare at the offending golem. “If I say yes, will you go away?”

“Indubitably!” Envoy nodded in agreement. “I will also grant you access to the full knowledge of what is currently the grandest nation in living history! Of course, I will also vacate the premises should you choose to decline instead.”

That caused Twilight to falter, wrenching her from her emotions and casting her to a tide of differing streams of logic. One stated that she should defer to the judgement of the most trustworthy and reliable person she knew, but said person had just deferred the judgement back to her not two minutes ago. Furthermore, another stream, a quiet, traitorous stream that wouldn’t do her the grand favor of curling up in a corner and dying wouldn’t let her forget those damn words!

Ultimately, unwilling to pursue the train of thought any longer, Twilight’s panicked mind swiftly defaulted, switching to a baser line of thought that offered a simple answer that could be summarized thusly: books equal good, safe. Fear bad, books make better. Get more books.

Hence, before she realized what she was doing, Twilight found herself saying “Yes,” before swiftly clamping her mouth shut in mortified horror a moment later.

Before Twilight could contemplate reconsidering her answer, Envoy clapped its hands together in what seemed like eagerness, tilting its head back in such a way that widened its grin even further. “I commend your decision, -Miss- -Sparkle-! Please hold for a moment while I establish the connection.”

The golem’s eyes suddenly started painting the room with a light blue light. It slowly rotated its head, sweeping the room with the light until it finally stopped, focusing on a specific object. The golem glanced over at Twilight, cocking its head to the side as it pointed at the horse-head-shaped bust that was situated over the table in the center of the room. “Does that figurine hold any significant historical or emotional value?”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Ah.. I-? N-no. At least, I don’t think so, anyways...”

“Then it is viable for usage as a terminal. Please hold for a moment.” Envoy promptly floated up to the bust and clapped its hands on both sides of its head. Moments later, runes started to flow out from the golem’s hands, winding down and around the equine effigy, engraving themselves into the wood.

Once the whole of the bust was covered, the runes flared with blue energy and the head seemed to buck, swinging its head around and displaying an astonishingly liberal range of movement. Once that was done, the head blinked its eyes twice. “Connection established.” It announced in an echoey, androgynous voice. It turned its gaze to look at Twilight. “Greetings, Miss Sparkle. I am Oracle, an Automated Academia Research Retrieval Intelligence. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Perfect!” Envoy chirped, clapping his hands together triumphantly as he turned to address Twilight. “Thank you for your time -Miss- -Sparkle-, and I hope your time working for the Academia Arcana is both successful and educational. Have a good day!” And with that, the golem clapped its hands twice, conjuring a ring of runes around itself before vanishing in a blast of light.

Twilight blinked as she processed the development before finally looking up at the horse head. “So... ah... Oracle, right?”

“Affirmative.”

“So... what can you... do, exactly?”

“I am a fully automated information retrieval terminal. I am capable of translocating any books from the Academia’s public archives, either for personal perusal or to loan out to patrons of the establishment.”

“Sounds simple enough...” Twilight mused before looking up suspiciously. “What’s the catch?”

Oracle’s runes suddenly shifted from blue to a menacing crimson in an instant. “The fee for overdue books is the perpetrators life.”

Twilight slapped a hoof to her face with a groan. “Yeah, that figures...”

The intelligent terminal’s markings immediately reverted to their original color. “That was a joke.”

Twilight barely managed to keep herself from falling over in shock before shooting the perpetrator a glare. “Not funny.”

“Professor Magnus Scholar has been recorded finding that style of humor to be quite amusing.”

The unicorn gave the terminal a flat look. “Now that really figures...”

“So I have been told. Now then, would you care to withdraw a book?”

Twilight hesitated as she registered the question. “Ah... what... how many subjects do you have access to?”

“The Academia Arcana prides itself on covering all subjects from, quote, ‘acoustics to zoology,’ end-quote.”

A shiver ran the length of Twilight’s spine as she fought to keep any drool from slipping out of the corner of her mouth. The mere concept of having such a stupidly wide range of knowledge within her grasp was... intoxicating to say the least. Her mind jumped from subject to subject, devoting just enough brainpower to keep from jumping around repeatedly saying “Yes!” That had been embarrassing enough the first time.

Casting about for something, anything, to order her chaotic thoughts, her eyes fell on the scorch marks Celestia’s emergency teleport had left behind. The sight was enough to immediately sober her thoughts, the events of the past few days (dear Celestia, mere days!) speeding through her mind. Along with those events came the emotions as well. The hopelessness, the uselessness, the helplessness...

Gritting her teeth, Twilight looked the terminal in the eye. “I want a primer on Concordian combat magic.”

“Understood. One moment...” Oracle bowed its head, its runes pulsing for a few second before looking up. “I have a suggestion: ‘How to Conquer your Enemies Via a Hail of Arcane Plasma and Other Methods of Magical Combat for Dummies.’ Does this suit your needs?”

Twilight considered the title for a moment before the natural scholar in her got the best of her. “Who’s the author?”

“Written by the Oligarch Pr-error,” Oracle cut itself off, its runes flashing green as it tilted it head to the side. “Archives out of date. Updating... update complete.Oracle looked back up again. “Written by Tyrant Celestia.”

Twilight tensed furiously as she processed the statement. She opened her mouth to move on to another book, maybe move to another subject entirely - and then the memories made themselves known again. Twilight closed her mouth with a click, face set in a determined frown. “Yes, that works just fine.”

“Understood. Translocating tome now.” The horse effigy opened its mouth, allowing a field of light and runes to shine on the table, runes flowing into place before solidifying into a large, leather-bound grimoire.

Twilight flipped the book open to its first chapter, scanning the title. “‘Chapter One: The Theory of Skirmishing,’...”

In spite of the madness that had occurred in the past few minutes, Twilight managed to find it in herself to smile.

-o-

Luna took the stairs two at a time, barely resisting the urge to take to her wings; in the confined corridors of Canterlot Castle, such a move would only slow her down. Really, what Celestia was thinking when drawing up the blueprints for this castle, she would never know. Either way, upon reaching the top of the flight, Luna came face to face with the doors to Celestia’s quarters, the guards standing at its sides snapping into firm salutes.

Taking a moment to compose herself, the Lunar Alicorn nodded firmly at the guards before flashing her horn in order to prompt the doors to open ever so slightly. She strode in through the gap, and the moment she was through she flicked her tail, the doors swinging shut behind her.

The temperature in the room was at a level normally the province of the Saddle Arabian deserts. At noon in midsummer. Never a good sign. Celestia herself was pacing back and forth in the center of her room, her lips moving in time to her thoughts, though no sound came out.

The smoke wafting from where her hooves made contact with the carpet did little to aid matters.

“Sister...” Luna started calmly.

“This was never about becoming their ‘masters,’ Luna!” Celestia barked, momentarily flaring up like a star as she shot a glare at her sister.

Luna cocked an eyebrow at the outburst, ignoring the triple-digit temperatures that were slowly baking the air. “We see that you are aware of Scholar’s... messengers.”

Celestia huffed and snorted furiously for a moment before allowing her magic to die down returning to her pacing. “It was never about that. Never, never, never...”

Luna hmm’ed thoughtfully, tapping her cheek as though the outburst had never occurred. “Though, thinking about it, this ploy fits Chrysalis better. An unpleasant affair, to be sure, but what are we to do about it? We’d have students rioting in the streets if we tried to refuse them in light of those words. But... why are you telling Us this? We are not the ones you need to convince.” Her eyes narrowed in thought at her sister. “That person is already in this room.”

The temperature around the solar mare spiked as she let out an un-mare-like snarl. “All I wanted to do was protect them. ‘Statistics’ this, ‘statistics’ that... they were never numbers, they were ponies! They were sapient! Living, breathing beings with hopes and dreams and friends and families... We just-!” Celestia let out a snort of despair as she fell on her rump, shaking her head miserably. “We just wanted to protect them, damn it... We never wanted to control them...”

“And you believe we are controlling them now?” Luna pressed. “That perhaps we are, dare We say it, stifling them?”

The elder sister looked up at the younger with eyes filled with despair. “Not ten minutes ago, I tried to prevent my student, my student, who I trust above all else- oh you know what I mean!” she snapped when Luna’s eyebrows shot up. “Above all other ponies of the current generation, from gaining access to knowledge because I claimed it was dangerous.”

“It is dangerous, Celestia,” Luna asserted. “The entire point of letting Concordia fade was to let the existence of the Academia fade away.” Her expression softened into a kind smile. “But We’re glad to see you still hold your compassion, still care for the ponies of Equestria. We shall need it after this war.”

Celestia tensed, shooting Luna warning look. “Luna, what are you-”

“Do you know what Scholar said to Us in Canterlot?” Not waiting for an answer, she continued on in a high-pitched approximation of Scholar’s voice. “‘Can’t, huh? That’s what I thought. How you’ve always been. Sure, you can be vindictive at times, but end of the day? You always screw up at the last moment.’

The blue Alicorn chuckled mirthlessly. “As much as it hurt to hear at the time, he was right. We have always been… held back, whether by my need for approval or old guilt for any number of actions.” She snorted and stamped her hoof, leaving an indentation in the floor. “But Our ponies are in danger, so We say NO MORE! Stay compassionate, Celestia, for We are discarding all doubts and restrictions.”

Power flared around Luna, power dark and terrible, before coiling around her and diving into her body. Her mane subtly darkened, a deep navy instead of the ocean blue it had been before. Two wicked fangs poked out from under her lips, and her pupils narrowed to cat-eyed slits.

All of them.”

Celestia took in her sister’s form. The transformation was not complete - her coat was still blue, and the size of both her body and horn hadn’t changed - but other than that...

“You’re becoming more comfortable with letting it out?” she queried gently.

“Yes,” Luna answered with a controlled nod, her voice thankfully (in Celestia’s opinion) unchanged. “It took much practice, and there was a… scare a few months ago, but We are steadily regaining our mastery of the Nightmare. Though, at this time a full transformation would likely require the Elements to undo, so it would be an option of last resort.”

Celestia stared at her sister silently for a moment before taking a deep breath and visibly pulled herself together. “You will follow my orders in this. I have the seniority and I will not tolerate any actions I do not personally approve.” She pinned her sister with a literally smoldering glare. “I hope that is not a problem.”

Luna chuckled, shaking her head as she shifted her features back to normal. “Of course not. You have always been the superior strategist of us.”

“That includes orders not from me, but from ponies I trust.”

Luna grimaced, but gave it thought. “I… suppose I could handle that. I would like to personally vet them beforehand, however.”

“Of course,” Celestia nodded. “In that case, I will require you to attend the general assembly of military officers I will be convening in a week’s time. We need to establish our Grand Strategy, and start preparing the economy.”

“Ah, logistics,” Luna rolled her eyes with a morose sigh. “What We would not give up to not be shackled by that beast…”

Celestia let out a tittering laugh as she strode out of her chambers, her sister following close behind. “Oh, Luna. I’m afraid that is one restriction you will never be able to escape. Now come...” She set her jaw with determination. “If we are to match Scholar move for move, then we must prepare to flip the world ourselves.”

“In the eternal words of the bard Scholar refuses to name: Lay on, MacDuff.”

-o-

Rainbow Dash swallowed heavily as she checked her angles, reconfirming for the umpteenth time that yes, she was alone, and that yes, she wasn’t being followed.

Nevertheless, the pegasus mare blew out a fearful breath as she collapsed stomach-first on the cloud she was hiding in. ‘This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy...’ she thought furiously. ‘What the hell am I even doing!?’

At the moment, the mare was burrowed into the middle of a completely inconspicuous cloudbank that was positioned over one of the hills that formed the border of Sweet Apple Acres furthest from Ponyville. As it was, she could only just barely make out her destination and as far as she could tell, it was nice and abandoned like she’d been told it would be, but nevertheless...

Dash flipped onto her back, placing a hoof over her heart as she fought to control her breathing. “Come on, come on...” she grit out furiously, raging against herself as much as anyone or anything. “Just... ergh...” she rubbed her eyes desperately before clopping her hooves together with a huff. “Alright, alright... This is ridiculous. I’m Rainbow Dash, I shouldn’t be scared of getting spotted visiting Sweet Apple Acres. I do it all the time!”

‘Normally I’m not there betraying Princess and country, but-!’

“ARGH! Forget it!” she ultimately snarled, slamming her hooves into her forehead.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash flared her wings and dove out of the cloud, plummeting towards the earth until she was skimming over the grass, hugging the hills as close as she could. Within moments, her target came within sight, looming over her: Old Oakley, a very large and very dead tree that had been on the edge of Sweet Apple Acres since before its borders had been established and had been standing there ever since, until death did them part even after that.

Unfortunately, as tree came into sight, so too did something else.

Or rather someone.

“Ohnononono-SHIT!” Rainbow Dash yelped, flaring her wings and digging her hooves into the ground in a desperate attempt to bleed off her speed and force herself to a stop. Unfortunately, just this once, her fight-or-flight reaction worked against her, sending her into an uncontrolled tumble straight at Oakley’s trunk.

Luckily, or unluckily, depending on whose opinion you asked, she was forced to a halt by length of rope looping around her barrel and killing her momentum mere feet from the wall of ancient wood.

Rainbow Dash heaved as the rope snapped taut, forcing her to come to a very sudden and very painful halt. “Thanks, Applejack...” she bit out.

“Not a’ pro’lem, sugarcube,” the farmer grumbled out from around the lasso she was holding in her mouth. She then proceeded to spit it out and started unwinding the rope from her friend. “So, what brings you out here? Training your stunts?”

“Uh…” Rainbow said intelligently, before latching onto the lifeline Applejack had unwittingly thrown her. “Y-yeah, yeah! Exactly! You know how it is, new trick, still working out the kinks and all that, super dangerous. In fact, you should probably get, oh, a half a mile clear? F-for your own safety. Don’t know how destructive this is going to be.”

“Uh huh,” Applejack deadpanned, the raised eyebrow practically screaming ‘not buying it’. “Well, I don’t see why ya gotta do it right over mah farm. If it’s that dangerous to ponies, it’s dangerous to mah family’s trees, and Ah’d rather not have to replant any.” Applejack suddenly gained a slightly shifty expression, glancing back and forth nervously. “W-why don’t you go ahead and, ah, vamoose? Go- go practice somewhere else, a’right?”

“N-!” Dash bit her tongue and brought her nerves under control before she could yell. “N-no, I can’t do that. C’mon, Applejack, this is the closest place around where I know no one will get hurt. Just... just leave, please!”

Applejack snorted, stubbornly pawing the ground with her hoof. “Dashie, yer mah friend and I love you like a sister, but this is mah land, where mah word is law, and right now, my word is that you need to git. Now.”

Rainbow Dash barely bit back a scream of frustration as she pumped her wings, giving her a foot over the earth pony. “Applejack, I’m only going to say this once: get out of here, please! I-it’s for your own good!”

“Ah’m not movin’ an inch, darn it!” Applejack spat, sticking her face in Dash’s. “Ah’m giving you once last warnin’, Dash: git off my property ‘fore Ah buck you off it!”

Dash locked skulls with Applejack, growling aggravatedly. “Why won’t you just trust me and get out of-!”

Both of the mares were cut off by a hollow in Oakley’s wood being lit up by an array carved into the inside of the tree.

“Applejack, I swear this isn’t what it looks like-!”/”Dashie, I can explain-!”

Both of the mares cut off in shock as they each realized that the other was saying the exact same thing they were. Before either of them could come up with a response, there was a quiet but no-less piercing ding!

The two froze as they slowly turned to stare at the hollow, taking in the two - not one, two - tightly rolled up scrolls that were tucked away in the wood.

Rainbow Dash slowly flapped up to the hollow and withdrew the scrolls with a shaky hoof, glancing over them briefly before holding one up for AJ to see. “I-I think this one’s for you...” she breathed.

Applejack swallowed heavily before hastily snapping the scroll out of Dash’s hoof with her lasso. Sadly, she as much as she wanted to deny it, it was hard to reject the fact that the seal was shaped exactly like her Cutie Mark.

Neither of the ponies looked at one another as they popped the seals and unrolled the scrolls, scanning over the alien yet somehow fully comprehensible runes that covered the papers.

The second their eyes reached the end of the scrolls, circles of glyphs flashing and burning into their retinas. The second their eyes cleared, large sigils flared over both the papers at once, covering them entirely before bursting into pure fire. The scrolls self-immolated in moments, ashes falling from the mares’ hooves and blowing away into the breeze.

Rainbow Dash blinked as she tried to process what had just happened before swallowing heavily as the implications hit her. The pegasus immediately started to rack her brain in order to recall what had been written to the best of her ability... and froze in shock as she realized that ‘the best of her ability’ was way clearer than it had any right to be. It was almost as though the words were... burned into her...

A shiver ran up Dash’s spine. “Okay, that is seriously creepy...”

“Tell me about it...” Applejack grumbled as she wrenched her hat down over her eyes.

The mares lapsed into silence as they stood apart from one another, both struggling to find something, anything to say to one another.

Finally, Rainbow glanced down at her friend. “AJ...”

“Ah’ve been buckin’ the north hills since dawn an’ you’ve been spendin’ the day wranglin’ a bank a’ thunderheads that was rollin’ in from the Everfree.”

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion before grunting in comprehension, looking away from her friend. “I didn’t see you, you didn’t see me. Got it.” She rolled her shoulders and flared her wings. “Well, I’d better get going. Places to be, thunderheads to buck. Don’t want to have lightning bolts hitting town hall again and all that, you know how it is...” She crouched in preparation for takeoff...

“Hold it.”

And promptly froze.

Applejack stared at her friend silently for a moment before looking away. “So... yer loyalties shifted or somethin’?”

Dash’s expression slackened for a moment before she steeled her back with a snort. “No... no, I just remembered my old ones. I’ve still got both, I just... ugh, what’s the word when one thing is more important than the other?”

“Priorities?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve just... reconsidered my priorities, that’s all. I still care about both, but... I can’t just forget this one. I... I just can’t.” The pegasus glanced at AJ before looking away. “And what about you? You’re really willing to lie to everyone about this? To us? To your family?”

Applejack snorted as she wrenched her hat down further. “T’ain’t lyin’ if’n I don’t say nuthin’ at all. ‘sides...” She bit her cheek firmly. “Sometimes the truth can hurt somethin’ fierce. It can make you... make you think about what’s really important... moral duties and all that, ya know?”

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly. “Yeah... yeah, I know.” She shifted uncomfortably on her hooves for a moment before coughing. “So, ah... see you later?”

“Yep.”

And with that, the two parted ways, making tracks for their intended destinations, their exteriors seemingly calm but their interiors in turmoil.

-o-

Rarity let out a contented sigh as she looked over Carousel Boutique, pleased that everything was - mostly - the way she had left it.

A few odds and ends were out of place, obviously the result of Sweetie Belle having the run of the place for a day, but other than that nothing truly serious.

Rarity smiled daintily as she ran her hoof over one of her dress-adorned ponyquins, admiring her own stitchwork. Gorgeous as always, even when compared to the brilliant designs back in Vitrum!

The unicorn grinned as she recalled the array of fashions she’d witnessed back then, and started as a bolt of lightning ran through her mind. “Ooooh!” she squealed as she clopped her hooves together eagerly. “Ide~a~!” She hastily darted over to her gembox and flipped it open. “I’m going to need rubies, agates, garnets and-!”

She trailed off as she caught sight of the polished wood bottom of the container before sighing and hanging her head. “And more gems, period. Perfect...” She shook her head as she shut the box’s lid. “I knew I was forgetting something...”

After sulking for a moment, Rarity brought her head up with a sniff. “Well, no matter, I’ll just have to go to the quarry and get more tomorrow. It should be a simple enough matter.”

She nodded definitively to herself as she went about preparing her belongings, a scarf here, a basket there, so on and so force. “Yes, yes, easy enough, I won’t even need to bring Spikey-Wikey along. The poor dear needs a rest like none other as is. No no, I’ll just need to go out, find a hole and make contact with the...” A shudder of revulsion ran the course of her body. “Diamond dogs. Ugh... As much as I wish I didn’t have to deal with them, they’re still good at digging up gems. No matter the fact that they’re uncouth, ill-mannered, repulsive-!”

Rarity promptly froze mid-motion as her memories of Vitrum returned anew, only this they recalled a far different part of her time there.

“And who designed this lovely piece? The way the colors mix is spectacular!

“Hm? Ah yes, ‘White Moon Falls,’ I remember this one. It was painted by a surprisingly expressive individual by the name of Ripper.”

“Quite the name. Another of those lupen fellows I presume?”

“Mmm, close but not exact. He was a canine, yes, but not a lupen.”

“Oh?”

“Indeed. He was a diamond dog.”

“A-! I’m sorry, what!?”

“A diamond dog. Is that so surprising?”

“A-are you joking!? Of course it is! Diamond dogs are imbeciles! Degenerate brutes without so much as a lick of artistic talent in their bodies! How could they possibly create something so-so beautiful!?”

“You seem quite certain about your view on their species.”

“A band of those canine ruffians accosted me not a few months ago and enslaved me! They forced me to dig up gems for them in their filthy mines!”

“Hmm... and you are certain that they are all like that?”

“Hm? Of-!”

“That they have always been like that?”

“-cou-! Ah- e-excuse me?”

“Are you certain that the diamond dogs were always such brutes? Because according to my experience, diamond dogs like Ripper were not all that unusual back in Concordia. Not common, no, but far from unusual.”

“You… make a good point. Perhaps they were not always such uncouth brutes. But they certainly are now!”

“Hm. And do you believe that there is no hope for them to change?”

“Ah...”

“And do you know why they devolved in such a drastic manner in the first place?”

“...”

“I’ll let you think on that. In the meantime, next we have a series of watercolors by a naiad by the name of…”

Rarity’s train of thought slowly jerked back into motion, prompting her to bow her head in thought. “Or perhaps I won’t need to be so hard on them... maybe... I could just talk to them? Speak with them?”

She nodded slowly to herself, lost in her own thoughts. “Yes, yes, I’ll... talk to them. I mean, after all...”

She shut the basket she’d prepared with a definitive click.

“What could go wrong?”

-o-

“And here you are, Mister Bluejay!” Fluttershy smiled as she tossed a worm up into the air.

The bird in question snatched the insect out of the air with a joyous tweet, singing its thanks to the mare.

“Oh no, thank you, Mister Bluejay!” Fluttershy waved the compliments off with a giggle. “I doubt things would look so good around here if you hadn’t helped keep everyone nice and orderly while I was away.”

Mister Bluejay warbled out a few additional lyrics as he swung one of his talons around.

Fluttershy’s grin widened even further at the news. “I’m so happy to hear that Angel Bunny was such a big help! I know he can be rough at times, but I know he means well.” She looked around her cottage’s yard, scanning the small crowd of critters that were ambling around. “Speaking of Angel, have you seen him anywhere? I haven’t seen him since I got back.”

The bird chirped as it swung a wing towards the back of her home.

“Oh, in the forest? Alright then, I’ll see if he’s back yet. Have a good day!”

With that, the pegasus turned around and started to trot around her cottage, greeting her varying friends as she went. Out of all of her friends, Fluttershy’s return home had been the smoothest. In all honesty, this came at no surprise on account of how she had the largest support system of them all waiting for her. Relatively speaking, at any rate.

Still, despite how comfortable she was, her return home wouldn’t truly be complete without personally assuring that her precious Angel Bunny was safe and sound. Sure, he had a temper at times, and sure he could be belligerent, but at the end of the day she cared about him, and he cared about her. That was the important part, right?

Rounding the corner, she beamed as she caught sight of a familiar white silhouette exiting the treeline...

And promptly squeaked in shock at what she saw.

It was Angel Bunny, but to say the poor rabbit wasn’t in the best of shape would be a severe understatement. He looked... mutilated, to see the very least. If even half the blood coating his body was his, and the angle his ear was hanging at... and were those bones sticking out of his pelt? It was as though he’d gotten into a fight with a bear and actually lost for once!

Fluttershy made to dart to her pet’s side, to hold him, comfort him, help him... before freezing as she noticed something: despite all the injuries, despite all the harm... Angel Bunny was still moving, still mobile, and he didn’t seem to be in the slightest bit of pain. Or at least, if he was, he didn’t show it.

About a foot out of the forest, Angel Bunny came to a halt Fluttershy pressed herself close to the wall of her cottage as the rabbit glanced around, his eyes thankfully passing over her. Once he was certain that he was alone, Bunny knelt over and started... cleaning himself?

Fluttershy blinked in confusion... before gasping in disbelief. Everywhere the rabbit’s paws passed over his body, every wound every stain, was slowly disappearing. The second they were out of sight, the injuries just seemed to evaporate as though they’d been little more than a bad dream.

Within moments, the bunny was back up to perfect condition, back to his cool, confident, if somewhat arrogant self.

Before Fluttershy could process the development, the rabbit was on the move, hopping back towards her home.

Thinking fast, the Pegasus fluttered out from behind her house, smiling at the bunny endearingly. “There you are, Angel Bunny! I’ve been looking all over the place for you. What were you doing in the forest?”

Without missing so much as a beat, Angel scoffed and rolled his eyes, waving a paw dismissively.

Fluttershy smiled and nodded in understanding. “Well, I hope your family is doing well, and that they come by to visit some time soon. Now, how about we go inside for lunch, hm? I’ll even make you whatever meal you choose!”

The rabbit promptly squeaked victoriously, pumping his furry paws eagerly before bounding into the cottage as swiftly as he could.

Fluttershy smiled after him the entire way before frowning in concern, turning to look into the depths of the Everfree.

Suddenly, home didn’t seem quite so comfortable any more.

-o-

“Aaaand... GOTCHA!” Pinkie Pie whooped, slamming a sieve down on the counter, grinning eagerly as she twisted her head around, trying to catch sight of whatever was inside it. “Alright, mister time for you to OH COME ON! AGAIN!?” The mare threw her hooves up in frustration as she spun her head around the kitchen, searching for something, anything out of place. “GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE WHATEVER-YOU-ARE!”

“Pinkie, dear, what are you doing?”

Pinkie spun around at the sound of Cup Cake’s bewildered voice with a squeak of embarrassment, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

“S-sorry, Mrs. Cake,” she chuckled. “It’s just that, well, you see... ever since I’ve gotten back, someone’s been messing with my work!”

“Um... couldn’t you just crack open a bag of flour or-?”

“Nonono!” Pinkie shook her head furiously as she continued fretting around the kitchen. “It’s not Pumpkin or Pound, I put them down for a nap an hour ago! No, whoever’s doing this is messing with the kitchen, moving everything around! Look!” She zipped to a cabinet and flung it open, indicating the array of bottles within. “See? The vanilla essence has been switched with the vanilla extract! And over here!” She jerked out a drawer and gestured at the cutlery. “Someone filed my ten-inch metal stirring rod to nine inches! And I swear that someone replaced my flimflammer with a bamboozler!

“Uh... what’s a-?”

“I... actually, I made those things up. But I bet that they would have if they existed!”

“I see...” Cup Cake lied, looking at her surrogate daughter in concern. “You’re sure that you’re not just misplacing things?”

“Have I ever misplaced, mishandled or mistreated my cooking equipment!?” Pinkie demanded indignantly.

“Er...” Mrs. Cake made to answer, but hesitated as she wracked her memories for an answer.

“Exactly!” Pinkie cried, jumping all around the kitchen, poking her head and hooves into each and every nook and cranny she could reach. “They’ve been interfering! Messing and fussing and... argh!”

“But who’s they, Pinkie?!” Cup Cake asked in concern.

“I don’t know!” The earth pony whined, flinging her hooves in the air desperately. “All I know is that they’re small and fast and blurry and they keep using my shortcuts and GET BACK HERE!” she suddenly hollered, throwing herself into a cabinet, following a blur of motion through a flare of swirling light that was spinning in the back of the closet and emerging from a bowl of chocolate resting on the counter a second later.

“Gah! Puh!” Pinkie spat furiously. “Perfect! So not only do I need to wash the chocolate from my mane...” She licked the sauce off of her face, smacking her lips for a moment before screaming in frustration. “BUT THIS IS DARK CHOCOLATE! IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE MILK!”

“Now now, Pinkie...” Cup Cake attempted to placate her charge. “I... well... w-what did you mean by shortcuts?”

The mare leapt out of the bowl and promptly started toweling herself off with a sigh. “The shortcuts are... paths. Holes that lead from here to there and everywhere. They’re how I get around, where I store my things. I can’t really explain it, but... I’ve been able to use them since forever. I...” She shook her head in confusion. “No one’s been able to see them before, no one’s barely been able to use them because you need to go in just right, and now these things are everywhere and USING THEM LIKE THEY WERE NOTHING!” She capped it all off with a fit of hoof-shaking directed at a trio of somethings that darted down the drain of the sink.

“Well, th-that’s just… terrible, Pinkie,” Cup Cake replied nervously. “But, uh, how should I put this…”

“You do know getting all worked up about it won’t make it any easier, right?” Carrot Cake stated bluntly as he poked his head in. “I heard the noise and decided to check up on things,” he said to his wife’s questioning look.

Cup rolled her eyes at her husband’s nosiness before returning to the pink mare. “Carrot’s right, Pinkie. I’m sure that whatever’s wrong will work out sooner or later. Just... calm down, okay?”

Pinkie sniffled for a second before nodding. “Y-yeah, alright... thanks, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. You’re both really great.” Pinkie stuck a hoof into her mane and pulled out... “What the heck?” She blinked at the lump of metal in her hoof. “This isn’t my handkerchief.”

Carrot narrowed his eyes at the metal suspiciously. “Hey... that looks like one of the bolts for the-”

KLUNK! SPLOOSH!

Pinkie’s eye twitched furiously as a fountain of water gushed out of her mane.

“-kitchen sink...”

Pinkie sucked in a furious breath...

And promptly froze in favor of sniffing the air. “Hey, can you guys smell something?”

The Cakes sniffed the air and looked at one another in confusion.

“Uh...?”

“No, I don’t think so...”

“One second...” Pinkie stuck her head into a drawer... and promptly withdrew it with a gasp. “OH-MY-GOSH-I-NEED-TO-GET-TO-TWILIGHT!” Pinkie yelped, cannonballing into the trashbin...

-o-

...and bursting out from between two textbooks detailing the intricacies of quantum physics and high-scale logical thinking. “TWILIGHT!”

Twilight reacted predictably, screaming and falling back in her chair, fumbling desperately to grab the grimoire she had flung into the air. “Pinkie!? W-where did you come from!? What’s wrong!? And-?” She blinked as she really looked Pinkie Pie. “Why is there water gushing out of your mane?”

“There’s no time!” Pinkie scrambled up to Twilight, grabbing her by her shoulders. “You need to come with me, quickly, it’s an emergency!”

“What? What is it, what are you talking about?”

“The fountain in town square is on fire!”

“WHAT!?”

Comments ( 102 )

Tartarus is small. An inescapable cell for a single prisoner. But the tales about it's purpose are not false.

And all the other villains placed here are just cannon fodder to slow him down... Sticking this in the Read Later pile.

... Friendship is Racist.

This chapter was good, already Scholar's nation is having a rippling effect that is influencing Equestria ever-more.

Several of the elements are apparently having problems figuring out where their loyalty truley lies, Celestia and Luna won't like this.

6576336 good they are finally learning how bad those 2 are killing almost all the races and crippling the survivors except ponies thats about as biased and evil as you can get

I suspect those "shorcuts" Pinkie mentions are Fae paths, and with Harmony weakening... they are back.
And if the beasts and monsters of the Everfree are suddenly regaining their power and ferocity... maybe is time to relocate Ponyville.

Oracle’s runes suddenly shifted from blue to a menacing crimson in an instant. “The fee for overdue books is the perpetrators life.”

The intelligent terminal’s markings immediately reverted to their original color. “That was a joke.”

media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li7s6kVgq11qafrh6.jpg
adding in a Mass Effect reference are you? :ajsmug:

6576707 That joke is an AI classic, sue me. :ajsmug:

wlam #10 · Oct 28th, 2015 · · 1 ·

“The quote of the day is thus: Beware of those who would deny you access to information, for in their heart they dream themselves your master."

I didn't realize Commissioner Pravin Lal was an Oligarch.


....then again, that technically makes a lot of sense.

6576785 He's not, but by the time I found the origin of that quote it was already a necessary part of the story. The origins don't make the words any less true though, right?

Looks like both sides are playing a long-term game, but Scholar by virtue of his presumably not being fully awake for his thousand odd years of imprisonment is less rusty, and so is turning the actual population of Equestria against Celestia, and he's sure to hear of Celestia's latest outburst from the golem and Spike both. If Luna goes full Nightmare, I wonder if the Elements will actually be able to work on her if the Mane Six's hearts aren't in it. Heck, for that matter (maybe it was mentioned before but details of stories that publish over a long time tend to fade) I wonder if the Elements of Harmony themselves would even be effective anymore with Harmony losing its power. They might have to put Nightmare Moon up in Tartarus!

I like how Mrs. Cake is just like 'Pinkie being Pinkie' but Mr. Cake actually seems to intuitively understand Pinkie is able to see the world in ways others aren't like a sixth sense.

Also, da fuq Angel Bunny? We already knew you were Satanspawn but this just proves it :fluttershysad:

6576801
They're perfectly true, I was just enjoying the Alpha Centauri reference. It offers a lot of true and very sensible quotes like that, actually.

6576490 Actually. even the ponies had their abilities at least halved
6576336 Kinda usually happens when people find out the leaders they mindlessly follow are xenocidal tyrants.

Loved the new update! Now it's only a matter of time before tia and Luna implement martial law and the ponies have a BRUTAL wake up call as to who and what their leaders really are.
Considering Blueball's attitudes towards the elements, wonder if he hasn'y known about Vitrum and dear aunts.

“It is dangerous, Celestia,” Luna asserted. “The entire point of letting Concordia fade was to let the existence of the Academia fade away.”

Only because they'd have enough information to think for themselves. ALWAYS the worst thing for tyrannical governments.

6581164 Eh, lose the cloak and make him of stone and that's close.

Honestly, I was thinking more along the lines of a smiling version of this guy:

i.ytimg.com/vi/kRl9onw7KoM/hqdefault.jpg

Is our mystery 'woman' an actual human perhaps? Would be interesting to see someone else act as a foil to Scholar, a third party that could at least match some of what Concordia has going on. Equestria isn't much of a threat at this point after all.

“The fountain in town square is on fire!”

"meanwhile in fahreheit"
i.imgur.com/1DPKtdu.jpg?1

Twilight’s panicked mind swiftly defaulted, switching to a baser line of thought that offered a simple answer that could be summarized thusly: books equal good, safe. Fear bad, books make better. Get more books.

This is my life's motto.

“The quote of the day is thus: Beware of those who would deny you access to information, for in their heart they dream themselves your master."

That came from one of the Sisters, didn't it? The delicious irony. :pinkiecrazy:

6625193 Chrysalis, actually. Subversion and deception are as natural to her as breathing.

Another great chapter. I alway's knew that something wasn't right about that rabbit.

6777573
.......screw the English language..... Still, thanks.

It appears to be dead folks. We had a good run boys but it's over.

6828782 Oi oi, just because I'm working on other stuff doesn't mean this one isn't still in my mind. Eesh, Farnsworth was right: take one nap in a ditch and suddenly you're presumed departed from this mortal coil.

Wondering when the next chapter is gonna be ready for the public.

6904575
Sorry, but it is infuriating.
The ending of multiple species over what appears to be a very minor problem.

Also, the "pony superiority complex." No government is functional without the Equestrian government having a direct control in it. Global imperialism at its finest.

Apologies, I'm ranting again.

6908919 makes sense when put like that

Razzy #30 · Feb 6th, 2016 · · 1 ·

6904673 Yeah, after having gone through the entire story so far, I'm more inclined to agree with you. Their actions smell too much of a certain group in Germany and Austria whose leader also placed his people above all other races and saw them as means to improve his people's life. Lebensraum and all that.

But I'm glad to that the Mane six have been swayed by the revelations, proving that they're better than their rulers.

I love how Scholar refers to Sunbutt as Tyrant Celestia. Never a bad moment to make a jab.

So... Some races they depowered, like griffons, some they poisoned, like changelings, some killed, like the trolls, and some effectively lobotomised, like the Diamond Dogs. Wow, just wow. And they still think it was necessary. Their complete and utter downfall can't happen soon enough.

For the record, this is the fourth time I have re-read this particular fic. It stands alone, among the nearly two or three hundred I have read over the past couple of years, as the only one I have ever re-read at all. I love this, because it is practically unique. This fic hosts a ensnaring plot line, very lovable characters (the selection of whom I have never seen used in such a manner ever before), humor, and generally things I have seen that have been approached but never fully equaled, in my opinion, in other places. There are weaknesses, among them the some suspension of OOC objections, but they are well played, and often used to the advantage of the story, in fact making the character more interesting then the cannon interpretation. I mean, dammit, everyone likes to see a little dimension to the characters, especially so for me in a story where simply pointing out who is in the right is a very challenging prospect.

So finally I must make my humble request: Post more often, for what ever deity you believe in's sake!!!!! Between you and Lord of Dorkness, I've been on a literary dry spell for months, soaking up random stories I find on site and otherwise in a desperate attempt to quench my thirst!!! Help! Me! I'm running out of alternatives here!

Is an update coming soon

So, how's it going? You still working on this? I'm really hoping to see this one finished one day. It's one of the very first stories I've ever read here. Still one of my favourites.

You, sir, are a genius. Please update soon.

If Celestia and Luna thought the world was too dangerous, why didn't they just move to another planet?

7318541 probably several reasons. one being it's possible Scholar never shared his world jumping magic with the other oligarchs. another being Celestia and Luna had lived in the world with their ponies for so long they couldn't leave for sentimental reasons. a third being it's possible they couldn't survive the trip through the void, or possibly in any other world unless it were filled with as much magic as Mundus, which there may not have been any close enough to jump to before they perished from lack of magic in their systems.

on a general note, it's a shame this story hasn't updated in so long. Just went through and re-read it and once again was awestruck at the wonderful writing, the amazing character development, and the hilarity interspersed with heart pumping action and bloodshed.

Normally I don't read stories that are on hiatus, since 99% of the time "on hiatus" actually means "cancelled", but this one seemed interesting enough so I read it anyway. I forgot that it was on hiatus when I finished it though, and now I'm sad.

Is there any chance of this amazing story updating in the future?

Is it dead now?

7616442 Hiatus. Just focusing on other fics for the meantime. Sorry to disappoint.

7757380

Well that's the problem with interdimensional travel in the usual sense. You may be right that the rune may be the thing that keeps him "stable" on that plane. Generally traveling to other dimensions is basically a roll of the dice to which one you'll end up in, that is unless THE PLOT demands that characters can pick and choose which ones they go to. But still I think that "reforging" a rune with an etherial body would be quite problematic. Don't forget that Time is also an issue.

On that note, no he cannot go back in time, timetravel is tricky business. The number one rule of timetravel is to NEVER travel along your own timeline, or at least be in any influential proximity. That's how the Doctor keeps time from unraveling and avoid paradoxes.

:twilightsmile: update pls :þ

7251015 Im thinking he won't risk it till he can figure out if she is tied to something, but I don't think he will kill her now that he knows the Eldritch beings are Making their way back now. Most likely he will try to unite the world by taking it over so he will have units. And Cadance's other personality sounds like a logical person so he may possibly try to turn her but keep eyes on her.

Is this story dead? Oh, wait, hiatus tag says yes. Darn. I love it anyway! :pinkiehappy:

So, will this fic ever get out of hiatus? You said half a year ago that you were focusing on other fics, even though you second story hasn't updated since this chapter was released, is this story just going on a permanent hiatus? To be forgotten, people longing for it to get an update? Keeping us blue-balled with this teaser of a final line?

Been a long while

6199726
AVE IMPERATOR!

8197771
He's working on his masterpiece fic This Bites! on Fanfiction.net. It's past a million words, and was published right when this went on hiatus. It is also vastly more popular. Odds are he'll finish that first, how ever long that will take.

8402238
Hm, guess I should check that out then .-. hopefully I'll find it as good as this

Edit: Nvm. It's a one-piece fic ._. not my thing

8403127
That's what I thought, but having decided to try a few chapters, it ain't bad.

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